Shoulder saddle assembly

ABSTRACT

A shoulder saddle assembly which may be worn by an adult to support and carry a child or injured adult with minimal effort and without the need for the bearer to hold the feet of the passenger or for the passenger to grip the head of the bearer. The assembly is constituted by a yoke member fitting over the head of the bearer and adapted to rest on the shoulders of the bearer, the yoke including a breast plate and a back plate to afford an effective distribution of the load. Removably secured to the yoke member is a cowl-shaped saddle piece, having a curved rear wall to receive the posterior of the passenger and rolled-in side walls to accommodate the passenger&#39;&#39;s thighs.

United States Patent [151 3,698,608 Entwistle 51 Oct. 17, 1972 SHOULDERSADDLE ASSEMBLY Prirr gry fiqt r ilng qerald M. Forle nza [72] Inventor:Clive E. Entwistle, 44 East 67th Ammmt m Forsberg Street, New York, NY.10021 AmmW-Mwhafl Ebert [2]] Appl' A shoulder saddle assembly which maybe worn by an adult to support and carry a child or injured adult with[52] US. Cl. ..224/6, 54/44 minimal effort and without the need for thebearer to [51] Int. Cl. ..A47d 13/02 hold the feet of the passenger orfor the passenger to Field of Search 5 5 5 grip the head of the bearer.The assembly is con- 7/ 54/44 stituted by a yoke member fitting over thehead of the bearer and adapted to rest on the shoulders of the [56]Rete'ences Cmd bearer, the yoke including a breast plate and a backUNlTED STATES PATENTS plate to afford an effective distribution Of the103d.

Removably secured to the yoke member is a cowl- Parsons piece having acurved rear wall to 3,266,218 8/1966 Pentz ..54/44 receive the posteriorof the passenger and rolled-in .r side walls to accommodate thepassengers thighs.

SHOULDER SADDLE ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates generally to a shoulder saddle assembly making it possible foran adult to support and carry a child or injured adult comfortably,securely and with minimal effort.

Even in the most primitive societies lacking all but the most elementarytools, means have been devised to facilitate the carriage of infants byadults, for the need for such means is as old as human history. ThusIndian children in North America are supported on cradle or papooseboards strapped to the back of the mother. Other cultures providebaskets or slings for this purpose. In modern society, various types ofbabyholders or harnesses have been developed which are worn in thefashion of knapsacks, whereby a child may be borne on the back or frontof a parent.

The difficulty with both primitive and modern baby carriers is that theload is invariably placed on the back or front of the bearer so that thechild usually faces the bearer. But even if the child borne on the backfaces in the direction of movement, his vision is blocked by the bearershead or back. In any event, the child has-a poor vantage point and isdeprived of many of the simple pleasures of travel. Furthermore, thesuspension harness generally tends to constrict the thorax of the child,hampering easy respiration and restricting body movement.

When a child wishes to be in a position to view a spectacle or parade orto otherwise improve his view, the common practice is to seat the childon the shoulders of an adult, the childs thighs straddling the neck ofthe bearer. A shoulder-borne child has his head above that of the bearerand he faces the same direction so that his vision is unimpaired. Butwhen the child is so seated, one must be careful to hold onto the legsof the child so that he is not dislodged from his precarious seat.Consequently, the bearer no longer has the use of his hands and isunable to open doors, hold onto railings or to carry various items.

Moreover, when a child is borne on the shoulders of an adult, eventhough his legs are held, the elevated child has a sense of insecurityand tends therefore to grab the head of the bearer. In doing this, thechild may place his hands over the eyes of the bearer and this may blockthe bearers view or knock off his glasses.

Thus while an adult may on occasion lift a child to his shoulders, thisis an experience fraught with certain dangers and a source of somediscomfort to both the bearer and the child.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing, it is the main objectof this invention to provide a shoulder saddle assembly to facilitatethe safe carriage of a child without the need to hold onto the child,thereby freeing the hands of the wearer.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide atwo-piece shoulder saddle assembly constituted by a yoke member restingon the shoulders of the bearer and having a breast plate and a backplate, and a saddle piece removably attached to the yoke member andshaped to accommodate the child.

Also an object of the invention is to provide a lowcost shoulder saddleassembly which securely and comfortably seats a child on the shouldersof a bearer, and which makes it possible to support and carry a childwith minimal effort.

A significant advantage of the invention is that the elevated child isgiven a fine vantage point, but not at the expense of his security, sothat the child feels no need to hold the head of the bearer and is freeto lean back or to the side without the fear of falling off his perch.

Briefly stated, these objects are accomplished in a shoulder saddleassembly including a yoke member provided with a neck opening and abreast plate joined by shoulder pieces to a back plate, whereby the yokemember rests stably on the shoulders of the wearer. Secured to the yokemember is a cowl-shaped saddle having a curved rear wall to accommodatethe posterior of the passenger, and rolled-in side walls to receive thethighs, whereby the legs of the child overlie the breast plate. Harnesspieces may be provided to secure the childs legs by the ankles to theyoke.

OUTLINE OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the invention aswell as other objects and further features thereof, reference is made tothe following detailed description to be read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a shoulder saddle assembly inaccordance with the invention, as worn by an adult to support a childpassenger;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the unoccupied saddle assembly;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the assembly, and

FIG. 4 is a front view of the assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawing, a saddleassembly in accordance with the invention is constituted by a yokemember, generally designated by numeral 10 and a saddle removablyconnected thereto by coin screws 12, a bayonet catch or other suitablemeans.

Because of the two-piece assembly, one may provide a range of sizes forthe saddle and the yoke and thereby match the assembly to both thebearer and the passenger. Thus when the child to be carried is quitesmall and his bearer a broad-shouldered adult, the assembly may betailored to this combination as distinguished from one in which thechild is somewhat larger and the bearer narrow-shouldered. It is alsopossible to provide a one-piece assembly in which the saddle and yokeare integral with each other.

Yoke 10. is molded, vacuum-formed or otherwise fabricated in one pieceof rigid, light-weight liquidimpermeable material, such as plain orreinforced vinyl, reinforced fiber glass, or aluminum. The yoke isshaped to define a breast plate 10A joined by shoulder pieces 10B and10C to a back plate 10D, the yoke having an opening 10E therein toaccommodate the neck of the wearer.

The underside of the yoke, particularly under the shoulder pieces 10Band 10C where the load is greatest, is preferably lined with paddingsuch as a layer of resilient foam material 13. One may reinforce thestructure of the yoke by turning in the edges thereof, thereby to definea peripheral rib or bead.

Saddle is cowl-shaped and is constituted by a curved rear wall 11A toaccommodate the posterior of the child, and rolled-in side walls 118 and11C which are shaped to accommodate the thighs of the seated child. Thusthe child, merely by spreading apart his thighs to press them againstthe side walls 113 and 11C, is able thereby to anchor himself firmly inthe saddle. He can then even lean backwards or sideways without the needto hold the head of the bearer. In this way, the danger of fingers inthe eyes of the bearer or dislodging the bearers glasses is avoided.

While there has been shown and described a preferred embodiment of theshoulder saddle assembly, it will be appreciated that many changes andmodifications may be made therein without, however, departing from theessential spirit of the invention. Thus the saddle assembly may beequipped with a water-proof hood of transparent plastic material toafford a shower cover for both the child and bearer. Or the saddle maybe worn in a car while driving, with the addition of a small cylindricalcushion in the roll behind the neck to afford protection againstwhiplash or other types of neck injuries. This protection is superior tothat furnished by the usual head rest fixed to a seat, for the shouldersaddle always moves with the body, whereas the head rest is effectiveonly if the head is in a position to be engaged by the head rest whensubjected to a shock force.

In practice, breast plate A may be formed with a central slot extendingfrom the neck opening to the lower edge thereof, so that instead ofplacing the saddle over the head, in order to rest it on the shoulders,it may be donned through the slot.

Also, detachable strips of plastic or other material may be used toconnect the front and rear pieces of the saddle, the strips going underthe arms and being adjustable by the wearer.

In this way, the saddle can be secured firmly to the wearer and cannotbe dislodged from the shoulder. One

may also provide ankle straps on the breast plate to engage the anklesof the child borne on the saddle.

A carrier pouch may be connected to the back to the saddle foraccommodating small packages. In this way, one can carry packages aswell as the child, and yet have the hands free to open gates, etc. Thefoam lining for the saddle is preferably of perforated or open-celledconstruction to communicate with holes in the yoke piece to provideoutlets for skin perspiration and thereby afford a cooling action.

I claim:

1. A shoulder saddle assembly for carrying a passenger and comprising:

A. a yoke member having a neck opening and a breast plate joined by apair of shoulder pieces to a back plate, whereby said member restsstably on the shoulders of the wearer,

B. a cowl-shaped saddle secured to the yoke member, said saddle having acurved rear wall to accommodate the posterior of the passenger, and sidewalls to engage the thighs of the passenger whose legs overlie thebreast plate.

2. A saddle assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein said saddle issecured to the yoke member by removable screws to permit a combinationof saddle and yoke sizes, matched to the passenger and bearer 3. Asaddle assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said yoke member isformed of light-weight, liquid-impermeable material.

4. A saddle assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said side walls arerolled-in to follow the shape of the thighs.

5. A saddle assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the edges of thesaddle are turned in to produce a reinforcing bead.

6. A saddle assembly as set forth in claim 1 further including harnesspieces to further secure the ankles or legs of the passenger to theyoke.

1. A shoulder saddle assembly for carrying a passenger and comprising:A. a yoke member having a neck opening and a breast plate joined by apair of shoulder pieces to a back plate, whereby said member restsstably on the shoulders of the wearer, B. a cowl-shaped saddle securedto the yoke member, said saddle having a curved rear wall to accommodatethe posterior of the passenger, and side walls to engage the thighs ofthe passenger whose legs overlie the breast plate.
 2. A saddle assemblyas set forth in claim 1, wherein said saddle is secured to the yokemember by removable screws to permit a combination of saddle and yokesizes, matched to the passenger and bearer.
 3. A saddle assembly as setforth in claim 1 wherein said yoke member is formed of light-weight,liquid-impermeable material.
 4. A saddle assembly as set forth in claim1 wherein said side walls are rolled-in to follow the shape of thethighs.
 5. A saddle assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the edgesof the saddle are turned in to produce a reinforcing bead.
 6. A saddleassembly as set forth in claim 1 further including harness pieces tofurther secure the ankles or legs of the passenger to the yoke.